TUSMORE
The 19th-century parish covered 735 acres, (fn. 1) but
since 1932 it has been united with Hardwick to form
the parish of Hardwick with Tusmore. (fn. 2) The Ockley
Brook formed a natural boundary in the north, and
on the south Buckingham Lane marked most of the
boundary with Hardwick, and Sheep Walk and the
stream draining Tusmore Lake much of that with
Stoke Lyne. Hardwick Heath lay on the eastern
boundary. (fn. 3) Tusmore lies on the Great Oolite, which
is covered by fine flint gravel along the Hardwick
boundary. (fn. 4) The soil is mostly stonebrash. Most of
the parish lies just below the 400-foot contour line,
but it rises to 412 feet in the north. The park is
intersected now, as in the 18th century, (fn. 5) by several
bridle roads and footpaths which link it with the
Oxford-Brackley road, which crosses the west of
the parish, and also with Cottisford and Hardwick.
A lime and yew avenue runs from Tusmore House
to Hardwick. The central and eastern parts of the
parish have many trees; the remaining portion, except for occasional clumps, is bare. (fn. 6)
The village, which was the poorest in the hundred
in the early 14th century (fn. 7) and probably the smallest,
was depopulated by the Black Death. (fn. 8) Tusmore, with
its church and a parsonage house, is thought to have
been situated to the north of the present Tusmore
House. (fn. 9) The 'chapel' was 'quite gone' when Rawlinson visited Tusmore in 1718, (fn. 10) though the field
names 'Church yard' and 'Churchyard close' have
preserved its memory. (fn. 11) The parson's house was
uninhabited at the date of the hearth tax of 1665,
when the only taxable house was Henry Fermor's
mansion. (fn. 12) There is no visible trace of the hamlet
today, and though there were thought to be signs
of the site of the church in the late 19th century, it
is not visible on the modern air map. (fn. 13) When the
Tusmore estate was sold in 1857, besides the big
house there were just two farm-houses in the parish. (fn. 14)
Both are stone-built and slated, one, Chase Barn,
lying a short distance to the north-east of Tusmore
House, the other, Pimlico Farm, in the north-west
of the parish. (fn. 15)
When Sir Roger de Cotesford obtained his licence
to enclose the village in 1358 it was probably with
the intention of building a house at Tusmore and
enclosing it in a park. (fn. 16) It is not known if any of this
medieval building was still standing when Sir
Richard Fermor came to live at Tusmore in about
1625. (fn. 17) He or his son Henry may have rebuilt and
enlarged it and added the domestic chapel, or possibly it was the already existing medieval chapel
which attracted them to the house. At all events it is
known that the 17th-century house for which Henry
Fermor returned nineteen hearths for the tax of 1665
was built of local stone and rough-cast. (fn. 18) It had
casement windows, a chapel and garden (probably
a kitchen garden) walled with red brick, (fn. 19) and
pleasure-gardens of an outstanding character. After
mentioning the famous garden walks at Aston
Rowant and Rowsham, Robert Plot says that of all
walks the Tusmore one with its fish-pond and hedges
was 'the most wonderfully pleasant'. He describes
in detail the curious optical illusion it produced. (fn. 20)
From a description of the house in James Fermor's
time (1703–22) it is known to have had dove-house,
malt-house, orchards, gardens, and other appurtenances. (fn. 21) The tradition that it had a priest's hidinghole is more credible than many such traditions. (fn. 22)
In 1758 William Fermor visited Rome and there
sought instruction in architecture from Robert
Mylne (1734–1811), the Scottish architect and engineer, who is best known for his construction of
Blackfriars Bridge. (fn. 23) At Fermor's request Mylne
went to Tusmore and later submitted plans for a
new house. The shell of the new building was completed by 1770, the date which appears on the frieze
of the east portico. Another nine years were occupied
in the work of interior decoration, in the laying out
of the gardens, which included a lake, a Temple of
Peace, dedicated to Pope, and the 'landscaping' of
the park. Little was left of the old house except the
chapel (which was redecorated), and this remnant
was burned down in 1837. (fn. 24)
Mylne's design, though perhaps 'rather stark',
possessed balance and dignity. (fn. 25) Views of the east
and principal front and of the south elevation are
given in George Richardson's New Vitruvius
Britannicus published in 1810. (fn. 26) The house was of
the Italian villa type with the main suite of rooms
placed on the first floor in order to command some
prospect in a flat country. A double flight of steps
led up to the main entrance, which opened on to a
hall and saloon, with the 'best' staircase lying beyond.
A plan in the New Vitruvius shows the layout of
the piano nobile, the old chapel left standing to the
north-east and connected with the parlour and
breakfast-room. A basement, a second story of bedrooms, and an attic floor, completed this wellproportioned, unpretentious house. (fn. 27)
Local stone from a nearby quarry at Fritwell was
largely used. It contains the russet tint of iron which
gives it a warm appearance. Freestone from Tottenhoe, near Dunstable, and from Glympton were used
for the columns and pilasters of the east and west
fronts. Taynton stone and common stone from
Headington were also employed. Bricks were made
on the estate, and its oaks were felled for timber. (fn. 28)
The total cost of the building, including the architect's expenses, amounted to £11, 305.
Tusmore House as created by Mylne and William
Fermor lasted for less than a century. After 1857
when Henry Howard, 2nd Earl of Effingham, bought
the estate, the symmetry of the original design was
spoilt by the addition of a barrack-like office wing to
the north on the site of the chapel, and the main
entrance was lowered to the basement story, an interior staircase being substituted for the exterior
flight of steps. These alterations were carried out by
William Burn in 1858. In 1929, however, Tusmore
was bought by the late Vivian Hugh Smith, afterwards Lord Bicester. Assisted by his architects,
Messrs. Imrie and Angell, he was responsible for
a thorough restoration. The Victorian wing disappeared from sight, only the screened base being
retained, and extending screen-walls terminating in
four pyramidal-roofed pavilions at the corners were
added in order to relate the house to its surroundings.
The basement entrance was retained, but the arcade
that once supported the steps was kept in the form
of a porte cochère. The floor of the original entrance
hall was removed, and a large staircase hall of two
stories, with a double flight, was constructed. Nevertheless, in spite of its maltreatment in the Victorian
period and the subsequent extensive 20th-century
alterations, enough remains of the 18th-century conception for the elegance of the original design to be
appreciated.
Smith also made drastic changes to the grounds,
and nothing now remains of Mylne's landscape gardening except the lake, already mentioned, and a
temple at its northern end. The park of over 150
acres in extent is entered from the Brackley approach
through a triumphal arch of free-stone, erected in
1906 by the 4th Earl of Effingham.
During the Howard ownership, a fine collection
of portraits, chiefly of members of the Howard
family, was housed at Tusmore. (fn. 29)
The half-timbered granary and dovecote stood in
the farmyard to the north of the old manor-house
and was incorporated within the area north of the
new house, which contained the offices and stables.
Judging by the mouldings of the bressumers and
the brackets and shafts supporting the overhang, the
granary cannot be later than the beginning of the
16th century. (fn. 30) The building is formed of oak posts,
studs, and panels, and formerly rested on rude
stone supports which have now been replaced
by concrete blocks. It is rectangular in plan and
has an overhang and entrance at the west side.
There are three floors, of which the two lower
ones are used as a granary and the top as a dovecote: the stone-slate roof contains a louvre. This is
an unusual construction to find surviving in stone
country.
Apart from its architectural interest, Tusmore
House is noted for its connexion with the Fermors,
a Roman Catholic family. One of them, Ursula the
daughter of Richard Fermor, was the mother of two
well-known Jacobites, John and Francis Towneley, (fn. 31)
although otherwise the Oxfordshire branch of the
family seems to have played no active part in the
movement. Arabella, the daughter of Henry (II)
Fermor, achieved some distinction as the heroine of
Pope's Rape of the Lock. William Fermor, the builder
of the new house, was a keen huntsman, and this
side of his activities is commemorated in an oil
painting at Aynho Park (Northants). Furthermore,
he was frequently the host of Mrs. Fitzherbert in
the 1790's, and tradition has it that she married
George IV at Tusmore House. (fn. 32) After William
Fermor's death in 1806, his eldest son left Tusmore
and the house was let to a succession of tenants for
most of the period from 1810 until 1857, when it
became the home of the earls of Effingham and later
of Lord Bicester, who for more than half a century
was one of the outstanding business men in the City
of London. He played an active part in Oxfordshire,
being Lord Lieutenant from 1934 until his death in
1956, chairman of the Bicester Hunt Committee,
and a well-known race-horse owner. (fn. 33)
Manor.
In 1086 3 virgates in TUSMORE and 3 in
Stoke Lyne were held by a certain Turald of Walter
Giffard, later Earl of Buckingham, who was lord of
the remainder of Stoke Lyne. (fn. 34) The overlordship
and mesne lordship of Turald's estate seem to have
followed the same descent as Stoke Lyne, (fn. 35) and its
division into two parts in Domesday Book is reflected by the attachment in the 13th century of a
part of Tusmore to each of the two manors in Stoke
Lyne. In 1199 Guy of Tusmore held 6 virgates of
Otwel de Lisle, (fn. 36) and it was probably this estate, then
rated as 1 hide, which was held of Giles de Lisle
by Richard, son of Guy, in 1279. At the latter date
another hide in Tusmore was held of John de Cokefield, tenant of the smaller Stoke Lyne manor, by
Morand de Pichelesthorn, and of him by Alan of
Tusmore, (fn. 37) who appears as a witness to deeds in the
neighbourhood from about 1250. (fn. 38) The descent of
these properties after 1279 is not known, but the
connexion with Stoke Lyne was maintained into the
14th century, for in 1327 part of Tusmore was
grouped with the hamlets of Bainton and Fewcot
in Stoke Lyne for the assessment of a 20th. (fn. 39)
It is reasonably certain that 2½ hides of the 7½
hides in Hardwick held by Robert d'Oilly in 1086, (fn. 40)
and which Robert had obtained by an exchange of
lands with Walter Giffard, (fn. 41) subsequently became
part of Tusmore. (fn. 42) In 1242–3 ½ knight's fee in
Tusmore was held of the honor of D'Oilly by Guy
son of Robert, lord of the manor of Ardley and the
descendant of Drew d'Aundeley who had been
Robert d'Oilly's tenant of Hardwick in 1086. (fn. 43) The
lords of Ardley (fn. 44) may well have held this half-fee
since the Domesday Survey, and they continued to
be recognized as mesne lords until the mid-14th
century. (fn. 45) In the 13th century they were also mesne
lords of a manor in Cranford St. Andrew (Northants),
where their tenants were the D'Aundeleys, descendants of Maurice d'Aundeley who had held it
early in the 12th century (fn. 46) and who was no doubt a
kinsman of Drew d'Aundeley. Maurice had been
succeeded at Cranford by Ralph (living 1189),
Maurice, Ralph (living 1228), and a third Maurice,
the first of the family to be definitely associated with
Tusmore, where he was Guy son of Robert's tenant
in 1243. (fn. 47) In 1265 after the battle of Evesham,
Maurice's lands in Tusmore were seized by the
royalists, but either he or his son Hugh recovered
them, for the latter was holding the half-fee in
Tusmore in 1279 and 1284–5. (fn. 48) By 1316 it had
passed to Hugh's son John, (fn. 49) perhaps the same John
who was holding in Tusmore in 1346 and who was
dead by 1349. (fn. 50) Although John's grandson William
may have brought some claim to the Tusmore
estate (fn. 51) it is likely that the former was the last of the
D'Aundeleys to hold it.
Another hide in Tusmore, also held of the honor
of D'Oilly, appears in the 13th century as part of
the manor of Bucknell, (fn. 52) held by Guy of Tusmore
of Simon de Turvill, who held it of Roger Damory.
In 1236 Simon conveyed the rent and homage owed
by Guy to Hugh Pateshull, while Guy became responsible for the service owed to Roger. (fn. 53) Hugh
Pateshull, Treasurer of the Exchequer and later
Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield, died in 1241 and
was succeeded by his nephew Sir Simon, son of
Walter Pateshull (d. 1232). Sir Simon died in 1274
and in 1279 the hide in Tusmore was held of his
successor Sir John (d. 1290) by Richard, son of
Guy. (fn. 54) It is uncertain when the Pateshull connexion
with Tusmore ended: no estate there is included in
the inquisitions post mortem of Sir John's successors
Simon (d. 1295), Sir John (d. 1349), or Sir William
(d. 1359), (fn. 55) and no lands in Tusmore were included
in the partition of the Pateshull inheritance between
William's sisters and coheiresses, (fn. 56) although the
advowson was. (fn. 57)
In the mid-14th century a single manor of Tusmore
appears in the possession of Sir Roger de Cotesford, who seems to have acquired the D'Aundeley
half-fee between 1346 (fn. 58) and 1357, and possibly
before 1349. (fn. 59) In all probability Sir Roger acquired
the Pateshull estates and the lands of the manor of
Giffard in Tusmore about the same time: his successors certainly held a manor which was said to
include lands in Stoke Lyne and Fewcot. (fn. 60) Sir Roger
died in 1375 (fn. 61) and was succeeded by Sir Thomas
de Cotesford. (fn. 62) By 1417 the latter had conveyed the
manor to John Ralegh of Wardington, who in that
year conveyed it in turn to John Danvers of Calthorpe. (fn. 63) In 1418 Sir Thomas quitclaimed the manor
to Danvers, (fn. 64) but shortly afterwards (fn. 65) it passed from
the latter to John Langston of Caversfield, whose son
John married Danvers's daughter Amice. John
Langston the elder died in 1435, and his son in
1506, (fn. 66) the latter being succeeded at Tusmore by
his younger son Thomas. By Thomas's will made
in 1525 the manor passed to his niece Catherine,
daughter of Christopher Langston, and her husband
Thomas Pigott of Doddershall (Bucks.). Catherine
died in 1557 and Thomas, who was Sheriff of
Buckinghamshire in 1552 and 1557, in 1559. (fn. 67) Their
son Thomas Pigott the younger conveyed Tusmore
in 1572 to Sir John Spencer of Althorp (Northants), (fn. 68)
who in 1574 conveyed it to Thomas Williamson and
his wife Bridget, (fn. 69) who became resident at Tusmore
that year. (fn. 70)
In 1606 Thomas and Bridget Williamson conveyed
the manor to Sir Richard Fermor of Somerton. (fn. 71)
Fermor probably moved into his new possession not
later than 1625, as in that year Somerton Place was
settled for life upon Cecily Compton, the widow of
his eldest son, Sir John Fermor. (fn. 72)
For seven generations (fn. 73) the Fermors continued as
lords of the manor. They were Henry Fermor (1642–
73), son of Sir Richard; Richard Fermor (1673–84);
Henry Fermor (1684–1703); James Fermor (1703–
22); Henry Fermor (1722–47); William Fermor
(1747–1806); and William Fermor (1806–28). The
last-named died without male heirs, and through
the marriage of his adopted daughter, Maria, with
Captain John Turner Ramsay (d. 1840), of Croughton (Northants), the property passed to the latter.
In 1857 the Tusmore estate was sold by the Ramsays
to Henry Howard, 2nd Earl of Effingham (1806–
89). (fn. 74) The property was subsequently held by his
son, Henry Howard, 3rd Earl of Effingham (1837–
98), and his grandson, Henry Alexander Gordon
Howard, 4th Earl of Effingham (1866–1927). (fn. 75) The
estate was bought from Lord Effingham's heir in
1929 by the late Vivian Hugh Smith (d. 1956), who
was created Baron Bicester of Tusmore in 1938. (fn. 76)
Economic History.
The name Tusmore
means 'Thur's pool' (O.E. Thures-mere), or possibly
'a lake haunted by a giant or demon' (O.E. Pyrsmere). (fn. 77) Even by the time of Domesday much of its
land may have been uncultivated. Turald's holding
of 6 virgates, half in Tusmore and half in Stoke
Lyne, was certainly undercultivated: there was land
for 2 plough-teams, but only one was in use. Although it is probable that part of Tusmore's land
was included in the Domesday account of Hardwick,
there is no direct reference to Tusmore apart from
Turald's 3 virgates. The estate was still worth 20s.
as it had been in 1066. Nothing can be said about
the numbers working on it owing to the intermixture of holdings between the three parishes. (fn. 78)
The survey of 1279 records considerable advance:
of the three lords, Hugh d'Aundeley and Richard
son of Guy each held 2 virgates in demesne; none is
recorded for Alan of Tusmore. On D'Aundeley's
holding there were seven villein (servi) virgaters each
paying 6s. a year rent, paying tallage, working and
paying fines if their sons left the manor at the lord's
will. Two cottagers each held half a virgate for an
annual rent of 3s. and owed the same services as the
virgaters. On Richard's estate there was one virgater
and two half-virgaters paying rent at the rate of 6s.
the virgate and owing the same services as D'Aundeley's villeins. Four cottars each held 3 acres at
a rent of 2s. 6d. a year. The rector with a half-virgate
was the only freeholder. Alan of Tusmore had 3
cottar tenants holding a half-virgate, 3 acres and a
messuage, and 1½ acre respectively for rents of 3s.,
1s., and 2s. (fn. 79) Fourteenth-century tax lists confirm
the above picture of a small community: in 1327
only seven persons contributed to the tax. (fn. 80) The
village's normal tax after 1334 was 21s. 6d., (fn. 81) but in
1354 it received an abatement of the whole sum. (fn. 82)
The Black Death struck the village with particular
severity. A writ of 1358 refers to the death from the
pestilence of the bondmen on Roger de Cotesford's
fee and implies that the whole village had become
deserted. He was licensed to inclose it. (fn. 83) It never
seems to have been resettled: it paid no tax in 1428
since there were fewer than ten householders, (fn. 84) and
it does not appear on the 16th-century subsidy rolls
or in the return for the Compton census of 1676. (fn. 85)
Division of the parish into inclosures may have soon
followed the depopulation and imparking of the 14th
century: Barley Close, Townsend Close, and North
Close are mentioned in a deed of 1629. (fn. 86)
In the Middle Ages there may have been a twofield system, for the North Field is mentioned in a
charter of 1374. (fn. 87) Field names used in the 18th and
19th centuries (fn. 88) perhaps preserved a little of the
topography of the open-field parish—Ox Pasture on
the eastern boundary, Barley Field in the south, and
Stoney Field in the north-east corner. About 1717
the greater part of the parish was in the occupation
of James Fermor, and the remainder was let to two
farmers. (fn. 89) In 1857 there were two large farms, Pimlico (155a.) and Chase Barn (382a.); another 30 acres
were let to a Stoke Lyne farmer; Tusmore House and
the grounds immediately surrounding it (21 a.) had
been let in recent years, and the woods and plantations, which were now numerous, amounted to 139
acres. (fn. 90)
The life of the small community at Tusmore has
for some centuries revolved around and been dependent on the House, whose inhabitants have made
up the majority of the population, which has varied
from 16 in 1831 to 51 in 1901. (fn. 91)
Church.
The first evidence for the possible existence of a church at Tusmore dates from 1074, when
a grant (confirmed c. 1127) was made of a part of its
tithes (see below). As the early manorial history of
Tusmore was so closely interrelated with that of
Hardwick and Stoke Lyne, it may be that the township's tithes belonged to one of these churches, but
there is no evidence that this was so. No church
building has survived at Tusmore and even its
dedication is unknown, so neither can provide any
clue to the early history of the church.
The advowson is first mentioned in 1236, when it
was granted by Simon de Turville to Hugh Pateshull, who soon afterwards presented to the church. (fn. 92)
During the 13th century it followed the descent of the
hide in Tusmore held by the Pateshull family. (fn. 93) In
1301, during the minority of John Pateshull, his stepfather, Walter Lord Teyes, (fn. 94) was patron. Sir John
presented to the church in 1338, and although
in 1354 the bishop collated by lapse, Sir William
Pateshull must have held the advowson at his death
in 1359, for in 1368 it was awarded to one of his
sisters and coheiresses, Catherine, the widow of
Sir Robert de Tudenham, (fn. 95) and their son Sir John
presented to the church in 1391. The bishop again
collated in 1403, but from 1419, when John Langston
presented, the advowson followed the descent of the
united manor.
After the Reformation, although the church disappeared, presentations continued to be made to the
living, and from 1612 the Fermors, who were the
patrons, presented on at least two occasions, although
Roman Catholics. (fn. 96) In about 1840 the rectory was
united to that of Hardwick, and since 1867 it has
been held with Cottisford. (fn. 97) The patron in 1956 was
Lord Bicester.
The value of the rectory in 1254 was £2, which by
1291 had increased to £6. (fn. 98) By the 16th century
it had sharply declined, being worth only £3 5s. in
1535. (fn. 99) At some time between then and the early
18th century the tithes, and whatever glebe there
was, (fn. 100) were commuted for a modus of £15, which the
rector received from the lord of the manor. (fn. 101) Later,
when the tithes had increased in value, the rector
could not 'gain information' as to the origin of this
arrangement, (fn. 102) which was confirmed by the tithe
award of 1852. (fn. 103)
In 1074 Robert d'Oilly granted two-thirds of the
demesne tithes of Tusmore, with those of many
other manors, to the church of St. George in Oxford
castle, and these in 1149 passed, with St. George's,
to Oseney Abbey. (fn. 104) They are mentioned in 1374,
when an agreement was made between the abbot and
Sir Roger de Cotesford whereby the latter acknowledged the justice of the abbot's claim to these
tithes, and in particular to those from certain furze
lands. (fn. 105) In 1436 they were leased for 20 years to the
rector, Nicholas Ridell, for 20d. This arrangement
continued, for early in the 16th century the abbey
successfully sued the rector for 47 years of arrears. (fn. 106)
In 1542 this part of the tithes, now called a pension,
was granted to Christ Church. (fn. 107)
Probably from the time of the depopulation of the
village in the 14th century (fn. 108) Tusmore ceased to be
an ordinary parish church. In the 15th century it is
called a chapel or free chapel. (fn. 109) The Fermors did
not need it as a place of worship; they, and often
their dependants, were buried in the Fermor chapel
at Somerton. (fn. 110) The Tusmore chapel probably ceased
to be used in the 16th century. (fn. 111)
A church of unknown dedication existed by 1236. (fn. 112)
It was at least partly rebuilt at a later date as fragments of 15th-century masonry have been found on
the site. (fn. 113) It was probably no longer in use in the 16th
century as it was not included in either of the two
early 16th-century episcopal visitations, (fn. 114) or in the
Edwardian inventories of church goods. (fn. 115) The
building had certainly disappeared by 1718, (fn. 116) when
Rawlinson visited the village.
Nonconformity.
From the 17th to the 19th
centuries Tusmore was one of the two centres in
the hundred of the Oxfordshire Roman Catholic
Mission. (fn. 117) The Catholic connexion probably began
when the Fermors started to live there in about 1625.
They were a strongly Roman Catholic family. (fn. 118)
Several of their members entered religious orders, (fn. 119)
and in 1693 the Society of Jesus granted Henry
Fermor and his family a letter of confraternity. (fn. 120)
The family kept a resident chaplain, often a Jesuit
but sometimes a member of another order or a
secular priest, (fn. 121) and the domestic chapel (fn. 122) served as
the Catholic church for the surrounding parishes.
With a few years' exception in about 1770, when
Tusmore House was being rebuilt, (fn. 123) this was the
case until 1810, when William Fermor left Tusmore
and leased the house. Although the chapel was
excepted from the lease, (fn. 124) the priest moved to
Hardwick.
The inhabitants of Tusmore, consisting of servants and dependants of the Fermors, were probably
until then mostly Papists. For the subsidy of 1644,
besides Henry Fermor and his wife, six Papists are
listed, including a chambermaid, a cook, and a dairymaid. (fn. 125) In 1706 there were six Papist servants; (fn. 126) in
the 1767 return of Papists, seven names come from
Tusmore; (fn. 127) and in 1808 all the parishioners were
said to be Roman Catholics. (fn. 128)
No record of Protestant dissent has been found.
Schools.
None known.
Charities.
None known.